The former Stimson mill site is the focus of ongoing redevelopment efforts.
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Consulting firm working with EPA on redevelopment of Stimson mill site
by Brent Shrum, Kootenai Valley Record
October 3, 2008
A consulting firm hired by the Environmental Protection Agency is working to help guide economic development activities at the former Stimson mill site now operated by the Kootenai Business Park Industrial District.
During a meeting last Tuesday sponsored by the Libby Area Technical Assistance Group, Michael Hancox of the firm E2 outlined his work to develop a strategy for future use of the site. The company is working with the EPA to identify opportunities and make sure the agency’s cleanup activities don’t create obstacles to redevelopment. Assets that could attract new businesses to the site or help existing businesses expand are being inventoried.
"We want to look at things like the rail that’s there, the water that’s available," Hancox said. "We want to look at the natural resources that are around that will feed industry."
Waste materials generated by existing tenants at the site, like Luck E-G Post & Rail, may have uses for other industries such as the manufacture of ethanol, Hancox said.
Paul Rumelhart, who serves as executive director of the Kootenai River Development Council, which is contracted to manage the site, said he’s optimistic about the potential for ethanol production at business park. The availability of free rail access could be a great selling point, he said.
"We’ve got all these great things that are taking place, and the EPA, I think, is doing a great job down there," he said.
Infrastructure needs for the site are budgeted at around $2 million, Rumelhart said. The bulk of the funding could be obtained from the federal Economic Development Administration, with required matching funds available through the Community Development Block Grant program, he said. But funding won’t be possible until the EPA issues a record of decision finalizing cleanup plans for the site, he added.
The EPA’s Kathy Hernandez said results from recent sampling activities, expected within the next couple of months, will determine how soon a record of decision can be issued.
"If the results are low, we move much more quickly," she said.
Results that have already been analyzed indicate asbestos contamination at levels below what would trigger cleanup action, Hernandez said. Portions of the site where heavy contamination was detected have already been cleaned up or demolished, she noted.
The agency is still waiting on results from additional sampling in which workers in protective gear simulated typical industrial and recreational activities. Those results will "tell us, are we good to go," Hernandez said.
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Editor’s Note: See the September 29, 2008 edition of the Kootenai Valley Record for the printed version of this story. The Kootenai Valley Record publishes once a week, on Monday, in Libby, Montana. They are a locally owned community newspaper, located at 403 Mineral Avenue in Libby. For in-county and out-of-county subscription information, call 406-293-2424, or e-mail kvrecord@gmail.com.
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